Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen Kade

Agitation burns through me,making me jittery and tense. I crack my neck, then my knuckles, then force myself to stretch. None of it helps ease the discomfort from being in my own skin right now.

I thought I would feel some relief when we got back home after taking out Romano, but it’s only gotten worse with each passing day.

Wait.

Stay low.

No big moves.

Wait some fucking more.

Is it any wonder I’m slowly going insane? I understand why we need to keep a low profile while we wait to see how Donahue reacts to the news of Romano’s death. The entire mansion going up in flames wasn’t exactly subtle. There’s no way he isn’t aware something happened, even if he doesn’t know the finer details.

At least the explosion hid the signs of torture. The roses that were branded into his skin. Not that I would mind us taking credit for our work. The whispers all sing our praises. At least that’s how I take the rumors floating around about our merciless attitudes and depraved revenge. Donahue shouldn’t have any fingers on the pulse of St Graves though. He should be blissfully unaware of our influence and desire to tear him down.

We can’t risk tipping him off that he is our bigger target after all. Let him come to his own conclusions about what happened to Romano. We don’t need him becoming even more careful with his own security.

Knowing all of this doesn’t change the incessant itch all over my body from being on lockdown. I need a fight. A few fights. Anything to relieve the images of a broken and beaten Charlotte. Those fucking photos have tortured all of us in more than one way. Every time I close my eyes, they’re all I see. I can’t even recognize the girl they left behind like that. No signs of the woman she’s become either.

I look at those photos and see the girl I lost so many years ago, not the girl that stands strong in front of me with a raised brow and a tapping foot.

“Hey there, Ladybug.” An easy grin spreads across my face. She fell apart after Romano’s death. We could all see the cracks as she forced herself to get back up and get us all home. She hasn’t been the same since. Her nightmares are worse than ever. Days where she refuses to get out of bed.

It makes the days like today all that much sweeter. Her strength and life present in the spark of her eyes.

“Why does Luca have a new black eye?” she asks accusingly.

My lips twitch as I shrug. “Someone won’t allow us to go to the fights. Gotta work out our feelings somehow.”

She narrows her eyes at me, making me laugh. “How are your swollen lips and bruised ass, Ladybug?” A blush rises on her cheeks and we both laugh at the levity of the moment. We all have our ways of coping.

“Fuck off,” she says, but there’s no real heat behind it. I pull her into my arms and kiss her until we’re both breathless. Her small hands rest on my shoulders. She’s seemed so much smaller, so much more fragile ever since we got back from Black Hallows. It makes me want to cradle her in my arms and protect her from everything that hides in the shadows of our ugly world.

It’s an odd thought. One reminiscent of our time in foster care, though the woman in front of me has changed so much.

Maybe she’s finally letting some of Letty out after burying her deep down for so long.

Somehow, she seems so much softer now. Maybe she got a piece of her old self back when she watched the life drain from Romano’s eyes.

She sighs in my arms, resting her head against my shoulder. I scoop her up and fall to a seat on the couch, holding her against me tightly. She laughs, shaking her head. “Declan is looking for you.”

I arch a brow in surprise. “D is?”

She rolls her eyes. “That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”

I save my sassy comeback and just pinch her side instead. “Does this mean I get to leave this fucking house?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. You’re the ones with a secret, not me.”

I freeze under her before cursing. Of course she would figure out we were hiding something from her. Did we really ever think we’d manage to keep her totally in the dark about her surprise?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lie smoothly.

She pats my cheek condescendingly. “Whatever you say, big guy.” So smoothly.

Scar climbs out of my lap and stretches her arms over her head. “You can keep your secrets,” she teases. “If you guys are going to be gone, I have some work I need to get done.”

I sit up straighter, locked into her words. She hasn’t said much about work since we got back a few days ago. It took us all by surprise as she’s the type to usually throw herself into work instead of confronting her feelings. This is the first time she seems ready to tackle our next big problem.

“What are you going to work on?”

I recognize the coy smile that graces her face and know she’s going to be sassy before she even opens her mouth. “Maybe I want my secrets too.”

Darting off the couch, I wrap my arms around her and pull her back down into my lap, tickling her sides as I do. “Nope. Not allowed.”

She smacks my arms and curses me out, all while laughing. “Stop it, you big brute.” Of course I ignore her, continuing to tickle her until she finally relents. “Fine, fine, I’ll tell you!”

I stop tickling her but as she attempts to pull free from my hold, I grip her tighter. She can tell me from right where she is. “It’s nothing that surprising,” she finally says. “I’m going to do some shit for Steel Roses. I can’t go there yet, but I want to check in with the contractor about where we’re at in the renovations. Make some plans. Check in with the girls. See who’s planning to come back. All that shit.”

I perk up and loosen my hold. “Do you think we’ll be ready to reopen soon?”

She shrugs. “With Romano gone now, what’s holding us back? We shouldn’t have any more direct threats to us while we work out the last bit of revenge planning.” She says it nonchalantly, but she can’t hide her feelings behind a bravado. Not from me. Not anymore. But today is a good day. I’m not dragging her into her anxiety when she has finally managed to shake a bit of it off.

“That’s brilliant,” I exclaim, slapping a fat, wet kiss against her cheek, making her laugh again.

“I was wondering what the hold up was,” Declan drawls slowly from the doorway.

I grin, feeling lighter than I have in days after hearing Scar laugh and joke again. She’s really going to be okay. Even if this hurts, even if it’s hard, she needs this and she will come out stronger and better for it. “No offense, dude,” I joke, “I’d just rather kiss her.”

He flips me off and rolls his eyes. “Let’s go, there’s work to be done.”

I whine when Scar climbs off my lap again, even though that itch from earlier is finally turning into a shiver of excitement. “Don’t worry, pretty girl,” he says as he kisses her forehead. “We’re gonna take the tunnels.”

Fuck yeah we are. They’re an integral part of our plan after all. Let’s fucking do this.

We leave Scar with Noah and Luca and head to the office to leave through the tunnels. As soon as the door closes behind us, I turn my attention to Declan. Him and Luca have really been keeping this project of ours going with everything else that’s going on. “How’s it coming along?”

He responds with one of his rare beaming smiles. “Fucking perfect. Should be completed soon. Charlene is going to suggest a family party in a few weeks where we can surprise her.”

I clap my hands together in excitement as we both break out into an easy jog. I wonder if golf carts would fit down here. Would be even easier to get around. Maybe some of those electric scooters or bikes. Not a bad idea.

“Who won?” I ask a few minutes later. I know it can’t have been either Luca or Declan, because they definitely would have already bragged about it by now. Smug assholes wouldn’t be able to help themselves.

Declan grumbles incoherently. I wait and he curses. “Fucking Ryder.”

I scoff. What a fucking dick. “Is that why he’s missing today?”

D rolls his eyes. “Too fucking smug to be around her without giving the whole thing away,” he grumbles.

“Fucking prick,” I curse and Declan snorts.

“At least you didn’t get Luca.”

The words make me stop short. “No,” I say, my eyes wide. One look at his face and I bend over as I cackle, my entire body shaking with the force of it. Oh, I can not wait for Scar to realize her surprise.

It’s going to be epic.